


like stars

by Hevheia



Series: The Old Guard Duolingo Prompts [19]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Nicolò accidentally waxes poetry, Pygmalion AU, Yusuf just has very pretty eyes you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 07:47:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30018471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hevheia/pseuds/Hevheia
Summary: “Do you like my eyes?” he asks, a little slurred from tiredness.“More than anything,” Nicolò answers, barely louder than a whisper. “Your eyes are like stars.”Yusuf breathes a laugh. “I didn’t know you were a poet,philtate.”
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: The Old Guard Duolingo Prompts [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952467
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	like stars

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my one year streak celebration on duolingo! This is a small continuation of [part 9](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178864) in the series.
> 
> Prompt: Your eyes are like stars (Deine Augen sind wie Sterne)

Yusuf’s kiss is like a sip from the river Lethe. One day, Nicolò thinks he might forget his own name. But he does not care as much as he probably should, because Yusuf’s hands, the very ones that freed him from the marble, are there to remind him of other, more important matters. 

Nicolò wouldn’t mind forgetting the whole world if only Yusuf remained. 

It grows hazy in Nicolò’s head as Yusuf continues to touch him, bodies slotted together like beams of wood crafted solely to fit each other. He is present enough, however, - or maybe it’s precisely the result of his world being focused on nothing but Yusuf - to notice Yusuf closing his eyes. 

Nicolò reaches out to touch his closed eyelids. He cannot speak; he lost his voice a while ago somewhere between the sheets, but Yusuf knows. Yusuf always knows. Nicolò is certain Yusuf can still hear the remaining splinters of marble sing within him. He is certain they will keep singing to Yusuf forever.

Yusuf opens his eyes and it is enough for Nicolò. It is too much. With a cry, he breaks into a million shards, he becomes whole, he breathes life into his marble lungs again as if for the first time. As always, Yusuf is not far behind.

After coming back to themselves, exchanging panting breaths in between kisses that chase each other, they lie close together. Yusuf is fighting sleep; his eyes are half-closed. Nicolò’s index finger follows his cheekbone beneath his left eye, making Yusuf smile. 

“Do you like my eyes?” he asks, a little slurred from tiredness. 

“More than anything,” Nicolò answers, barely louder than a whisper. “Your eyes are like stars.”

Yusuf breathes a laugh. “I didn’t know you were a poet, _philtate_.”

“I am not. It is the truth, Yusuf.” Nicolò shifts even closer, because he has to make Yusuf understand. He cups Yusuf’s cheek, continuing the caresses along his cheekbone with his thumb. “They are compelling, mesmerizing, humbling. They are mysterious and familiar all at once. They guide me home with their brilliance, they provide comfort in the darkest of nights. They show me your thoughts and feelings in a thousand different constellations. _Agapète_ , I believe the stars in the sky are only phantoms, tricks, nothing but memories. I believe the gods have put the real stars in your eyes because nowhere else would they be harboured so lovingly.”

Yusuf closes his shimmering eyes and a tear slips out, but Nicolò’s thumb is there to wipe it away. He turns his head to kiss Nicolò’s palm.

Then he opens his eyes once more and the stars light up even the darkest corners of Nicolò’s soul. They are brighter than Helios himself.

“Nicolò,” Yusuf whispers against his skin. He cannot say anything else, it seems, but it does not matter. 

In the constellations in Yusuf’s eyes, Nicolò can read everything he needs to know.


End file.
